


The Party

by Brennan4



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: F/M, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-31 00:39:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1025288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brennan4/pseuds/Brennan4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim and Steph score an invitation to a rich girl's Halloween party. Something seems off with their host, and someone is picking off the guests one by one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Party

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for ImagineTheBatfam's Halloween contest, and is based off of Joker's Asylum: Scarecrow #1

Tim heard footsteps behind him grow closer and closer. He was sure it was just one of his classmates, but his training induced a mild level of paranoia. He carefully turned around and saw Stephanie Brown running towards him, an excited look on her face.  

“Are you doing anything for Halloween tomorrow?”

Tim shrugged. He said, “Not really. There didn’t seem like there was very much to do this year. Besides, with Calendar Man locked up, I don’t think our ‘extracurricular activity’ will keep us too busy. “

“Well then, I guess you would be free to come with me to Elizabeth Whitehall’s party?”

A shocked expression grew on Tim’s face. “You got an invitation? I thought her annual party was supposed to be super exclusive or something.”

Steph bonked him on the head with a textbook. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“I only meant that we barely know her, and we aren’t the very top of the school’s social ladder, which apparently makes up her guest roster every year. What happened?”

“I don’t know. I saw her the other day by the tack. She seemed pretty bummed out about something, so I asked if she was okay and walked with her to the school counselor.”

“And then she invited you? That’s… interesting. Maybe she’s going through a rough patch or something.”

“Yeah, I thought so to. So you’re coming?”

Tim shrugged again. “I don’t see why not. Should I bring a costume?”

Steph rolled her eyes. “Geez Tim, it’s a teenager party. None of us have worn costumes in years.”

“I’ll ignore the obvious joke,” shot back Tim.

****

Mr. Worthing took one last look around the office to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. Apart from the decorations that littered the room, everything looked to be in order.

He briefly wondered how the students he looked after would fare this night. As a school counselor, he frequently worried about his students, but especially on days like Halloween. Apart from the usual concerns about alcohol consumption and street crime, he was particularly concerned about Elizabeth’s party. The poor girl had changed so much over the past few weeks, and he hoped the party she always threw would help cheer her up.

He heard a scratching noise from the office next door. He initially thought the school’s rodent problem might be back, and went to look. Then he remembered what day it was, and suspected a prank. He threw open the door,expecting some kid in a mask. He found nothing. He laughed quietly to himself and turned around again when he heard a voice say, “Hello. Happy Halloween.”

There was something familiar about the voice. He had definitely heard it before, but it didn’t sound like a student. He wondered if it was a teacher as he turned around.

His vision was instantly obscured by a greenish fog. He coughed violently and ducked his head.

He felt his throat fill up with water.He panicked, and desperately tried to cough it up. He saw water spill out onto the floor, but his throat was still clogged. He didn’t understand what was going on, but the logical part of his brain quickly faded out.

He rolled on the floor, gasping for air that would never come to his lungs. He felt a pointed foot jab him in the stomach and flip him over as the world faded to black.

****

Whitehall mansion wa one of the few buildings in  Gotham that could rival Wayne Manor in terms of splendor. It was just as large, but had a completely different style. Wayne Manor had an old-fashioned look, while Whitehall practically bragged about how new it was. There were almost no walls to be found, just expansive, elegant glass windows. The roof and interior were a sterile white. Stephanie thought it looked a bit like a fishbowl in a dentist’s office.

When she and Tim stepped in, they were greeted by the other guests. There were less of them than she expected. As she had heard, the last party was an extravagant collection of the school’s elite. There were maybe eight people here, besides her and Tim. The only one she recognized was Cody, one of the football team’s best players.

“Glad you could make it!” said Elizabeth. “Please hand your coats over to Walter.”

As she and Tim gave the butler their coats, she tried to figure out what was bothering her about Elizabeth’s demeanor. The girl was usually so vibrant and carefree, but seemed tired and nervous. The more naive part of Stephanie wanted to chalk it up to hormones.

Tim made a beeline for the buffet tray as Steph cracked a smile. Normally her boyfriend didn’t fit in well at parties, but this one might be an exception. At least, he wouldn’t feel more out of place than anyone else.

****

As Walter set down the last of his coats, he attended to his final chore of the evening. He made a final round patrolling the front garden, pruning shears clasped firmly in his hands. He didn’t understand why Mrs. Whitehall insisted on making him do the last garden work while it was dark. In fact, he didn’t know why the family even bothered with a garden at all anymore. Neither of the parents spent much time at home, and they rarely had guests over. The last time anyone had come over was the Halloween party last year.

He could see the kids from outside through one of the ridiculous windows. He felt sorry for the girl. She seemed to be pretending she was happy when she really wasn’t. Walter didn’t know how to help people like that.

He smelled something strange in the air. He would have described the odor as a cross between drying paint and wood burning. A sense of dizziness overcame him, and he felt his sense of balance slipping. He watched in terror as the ground below began cracking. The garden split into a gaping maw that seemed to reach down for miles. He backed away, but it was too late. The ground beneath his foot crumbled and he fell into the Abyss.

****

“I assume you all know the rules to ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven,’ right?” asked Elizabeth.

Tim tried to hide a sigh of displeasure. He did know how to play the game, and wasn’t looking forward to it. Even before he started dating Steph, he always found this kind of game to be incredibly awkward. It was probably part of the reason he didn’t usually go to parties like these.

Nevertheless, he wrote his name on a scrap of paper and put it into a large serving bowl, along with the rest of the guests. As he did, he gave a quick glance to Steph. Not many people in the school knew they were dating, which was probably safest for their secret identities. Steph just shrugged as she flipped her piece of paper in nonchalantly.

A girl Tim barely recognized was selected to go first. Her name was Lindsay, and Tim was peripherally aware that she was regarded as one of the few people in the school smarter than he was. She blushed as she revealed she had gotten Cody’s name. The two went upstairs together to the empty bedroom of Elizabeth’s parents.During all of this, tim kept paying attention to Elizabeth. He had a lot of experience with hosts that weren’t interested in the parties they were hosting. She showed the same aloofness and feigned interest that Bruce regularly showed at his parties. Tim could tell that Steph was picking up on it too. The girl had a habit of moving closer to someone she could tell was in pain and lightly touching them, an almost subconscious attempt to soothe them. She hadn’t moved more than a few inches away from Elizabeth since the party had begun.

****

“This may sound a bit dorky and pathetic,” said Cody. “But I would like to use this time to get to know you a little bit.”

Lindsay smirked. “Before

happens, right?”

Cody shrugged. “I guess.”

Lindsay said, “That’s for the best. Help this whole thing from being too awkward. Anyway, I’m an honor student, and leader of the Chemistry and Robotics clubs.”

“You’re a bit of a Brainiac , huh”

Lindsay giggled, “Yeah, but not like the evil computer that always fights Superman. Hey, how come all the lights are off up here?”

Cody said, “I’m not sure. Part of me wants to say it would enhance the ‘atmosphere’ or whatever, but it’ creepy. I’ll see if I can find one.”

Cody stepped out into the hall while Lindsay laid back on the Whitehall’s enormous bed. He rubbed his hands along the walls until he found a lightswitch. He flipped it back and forth to no effect.

Cody headed back to the still dark room. “I think the bulbs must be out or something. Maybe it’s a circuit thing. “

Cody expected Lindsay to answer with some factoid about electrical engineering, but the room was silent. He moved in closer and saw that the bed was bare.

“Lindsay? Where did you go?”

When he didn’t get a response, he began looking around the room.

“Come on, we’ve only got seven minutes up here. This is no time for hide and seek.”

He looked in the bathroom, which was also dark. He called out again, and still got no response.

He turned back out and noticed a strange smell, almost like something burning. suddenly he felt sick to his stomach. He grabbed his belly and fell to his knees, his eyes fixed on the floor. The smoothe rug began shifting. Out of the carpet emerged dozens, maybe hundreds of tiny forms. He peered through the darkness and realized it was a swarm of ants.

He tried to call out but his breath was gone. He struggled against the nausea to move, but the ants were already upon him. He could feel the pinprick of each of their tiny legs along his skin as they quickly covered his entire Body. They moved up to his face and over his eyelids, soon blocking out the faint light that barely illuminated the room.

****

“It’s been seven minutes and they aren’t back yet,” said Tim, in a tone that bordered on indignant.

“Maybe the next group can go up and tell them time’s up,” offered Steph.

“Why don’t you pick the next nae then?” asked Elizabeth.

Steph reached her hand into the bowl and picked a piece of paper.

“Oh look, it’s Tim.” She was lying, of course. She actually got the name Francois Amyet, who she guessed was the exchange student with a thick accent she could barely understand. She didn’t want the party to get even more awkward than it already was. She grabbed Tim’s wrist and yanked him off the couch.The two went upstairs together.

As they went up, they transitioned into the dark part of the house. They were both exceptionally well trained at seeing things at night, but today they were off their guard. As such, they didn’t see a slim figure moving at the top of the stairs. They didn’t see it crawl along the wall beside the stairs and slip right past them. They didn’t see it slink into a room behind most of the guests and move towards the basement, undetected by anyone else, with free access to the houses circuit breakers.

****

Elizabeth looked up as the lights flickered and went out. The entire house was now dark.

“Ugh. This happens every year. Some freak gets ticked that I didn’t invite them, and wants to throw a prank as revenge. Expect someone in a costume to burst out any moment to frighten us, thinking they can put it on YouTube or something.”

She looked at the clock on her phone, wondering why her life had gotten so predictable.

****

Tim and Steph walked to the bedroom, both of them too shy to say anything. A million jokes about their current situation ran through their heads, but they both decided not to say anything.

As Steph reached the door, someone grabbed her shoulder. She saw Tim standing to her side, a few inches away, and momentarily panicked. Her training kicked in, and she pulled the arm and brought her assailant within reach. Even in the dark, she recognized Lindsay’s face.

Her surprise resulted in a slight loosening of her grip, allowing the girl to slip free.

“I’m not afraid,” said Lindsay, in shaking breathes. “You aren’t real. I’m not stupid. Ghosts aren’t real.”

She lunged at Tim, slashing red lines across his face with her fingernails. She didn’t break the skin, but he still felt hot shots of pain move across his face.

The girl bolted down the hall, muttering to herself, “Ghosts aren’t real. I’m not afraid of them. They can’t hurt me.”

She opened the first unlocked door she found and hurried inside.  

Tim and Steph both acted on instinct, following her without thinking about what might be going on. They were caught with their guards down and didn’t have time to analyze the situation.

****

When Elizabeth heard footsteps behind her, she assumed Walter had come to bid them goodnight. She turned and saw the shadow of the approacher. It was a tall, gaunt figure, whose limbs jutted out at crooked angle. As the figure moved into the moonlight, she saw it was clearly not her butler.

The man wore a raggedy burlap mask with large thread marks like it had been torn and sewn multiple times. He wore an outfit she recognized from frequent news reports as an Arkham straightjacket. The arms were not fastened securely behind the back, but waved back and forth as he walked.

“W-who are you?”

“I’m someone who’s here to help. I’ve read about you, Elizabeth Whitehall.”

Elizabeth’s last shreds of courage faded when the man spoke her name. The other guests gasped collectively.

“You are troubled by great fears. I’m here to help you with them.”

The man stretched out an arm, and a puff of vapor emerged from a device on his wrist.

“The only way to understand what we fear is to face it head on.”

As the burning smell entered her nose, Elizabeth turned to the other guests for help. Before her eyes, their skin melted off, leaving only skeletal forms behind. Their eyes glowed oranges as they stood up one by one and turned towards the hall.

“Don’t!” she gasped. “Don’t leave me. Please. Don’t go.”

The thin man loomed over her. He spoke a single word. “Interesting.”

****

Tim and Steph heard Elizabeth screaming downstairs. Unfortunately, they had their hands full with Lindsay. The girl was kicking and scratching at the two as they carried her to the bed.

“This is for your own good,” said Steph, as she swung a lamp into the back of her head, knocking her out.

“These symptoms look familiar,” said Tim as he let go of the unconscious girl. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Scarecrow,” replied Steph. “This looks like the symptoms of exposure to his toxin. He’s probably here.”

“Which would explain the screaming downstairs. We should go.”

The two bolted down the hall and onto the stairs,sliding down the bannister to save time. When they entered the living room, they saw Scarecrow looming over Elizabeth, with the rest of the kids huddled behind the couch.

“You’re afraid of abandonment, aren’t you?” said Scarecrow as he inched closer.”You’re afraid nobody cares about you as a person. You think people only stay with you for your money and status.”

A silver gleam reflected the moon’s light across the room. Clutched in Scarecrow’s hand was a kitchen knife. The masked man aimed the blade at Elizabeth’s throat.

“You don’t think anyone would care enough to help you. You think nobody cares enough to save you from me.”

The girl whimpered as she curled into the fetal position. Tears dripped onto the carpet.

Scarecrow raised his knife when Tim and Steph both tackled him from behind. The masked man growled as the teens knocked him to the floor and tried to pin him. He turned and flung them both off, waving his knife at them.

Elizabeth choked back tears and rose off the ground. The effects of the gas made it almost impossible to tell what was going on, but she could see that her attacker had his back turned. She swallowed the pain and grabbed a vase off a nearby table. She slammed it into the back of his head with all the strength she could muster. Scarecrow gasped in pain and crumpled onto the floor, unconscious.

****

The police came and took Scarecrow back to Arkham. Steph and Tim were questioned with the rest of the kids, and feigned ignorance about most of what had happened. As far as the police knew, they were ordinary teens who distracted the madman long enough for Elizabeth to take him out. They gleamed that Jonathan Crane had been an associate of their school counselor in college. he read about Elizabeth’s party and selected her for his rampage. He never realized he had run into two of Batman’s proteges.

“Thanks for helping me,”said Elizabeth, swaddled in a blanket the paramedics had given her.

“We should be thanking you,” said Tim. “You saved the day, after all.”  

“Yeah,” said Steph. “You were super brave.”

“I’m just sorry the party didn’t go too well.” She laughed without really knowing why. “They said they’ll have to take to the hospital. Because of that gas stuff.”

Steph smiled. “We’ll be sure to visit you.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” added Tim. “We’re friends, aren’t we? That’s what friends do?”

Elizabeth paused,like she had never really thought of that before. “That means a lot to me.”

Elizabeth walked towards and ambulance. Steph and Tim went in the direction of the ornate gate at the front of the  mansion. As it opened, they both gave one last look at Elizabeth as the ambulance doors closed, and waved at her.

 


End file.
